


Hide Me

by inukag123



Series: Adrienette April [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 23:53:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18434720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inukag123/pseuds/inukag123
Summary: Adrien appeared at Marinette's door, disheveled and tired, asking for refuge. Who was she to refuse?





	1. Disheveled

**Author's Note:**

> Still kind of a work in progress, but I wanted to throw the first chapter up anyway, sorry if it's short! Next chapters will be longer haha

There was a quiet, yet insistant rapping on Marinette's front door that snapped her from her nap.

Sitting up slowly, she rubbed at her face. 'What time is it?' She asked herself.

'It's just past seven,' Tikki replied sleepily. 'Watching you sleep made me sleepy. Are you expecting anyone?'

'No?' Marinette replied. Since she had moved out into her own tiny apartment a few months ago, she rarely had unexpected guests, beyond Alya occasionally. She cleared her throat to try and shift the sleep. 'Wait, did you say seven? I only closed my eyes! That was four hours ago!' She pushed herself to her feet and headed towards the door.

'You did say you were tired,' Tikki replied, diving for her breast pocket.

'Who is it?' Marinette called through the door, leaning towards the peephole.

'Um, It's Adrien,' came the reply. 'Can I come in for a second?'

She froze momentarily, before mentally pulling herself together. She was twenty, damn it!

'Sure!' She called back, pulling back the deadbolt and fighting with the locks for a brief moment, before pulling back the door.

The figure before her looked, for want of a better phrase, beat down. Adrien's normally carefully styled hair was uncharacteristically messy, and he looked pale. He looked like he'd been running. 

'Are you alright?' Were the words that immediately tumbled from her lips, as she already was pulling him inside. 'What happened?'

After a moment of manhandling, he straightened slightly, and tried to straighten his shirt. 'It's, nothing, I just, could you hide me for the weekend?' He looked up at her, a mix of grim defeat on his face. 'It's been a rough, well,' he paused, 'time, but Nino's got that huge thing on and he said I should come here, instead.' His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, finishing by looking down at his feet. 

It struck her as like a kitten that thought it was in trouble. 

It wasn't a difficult decision, if she had to admit. 'Of course! Here, sit down.' She gestured over to the couch, before internally screeching.

She hurried over and pulled the hastily thrown pile of clothes off of the end, and bodily threw them into her bedroom behind before shutting the door with a snap. 'Wow, sorry, I've really only had Alya over here lately and, it's been, busy?' She laughed awkwardly. 'Let me put the kettle on for you.'

He sat down amongst the cushions like a man much older than he was. 'Are you sure? Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.' He sat as far back as he could, and mussed his hair. 'God, I love this couch.'

From the kitchenette Marinette smiled. 'You'll love it more a bit later, it's a pull out. It was a housewarming gift from my parents. Do you want coffee? Tea?'

'Anything, thank you so much.' He reiterated. 'I can reimburse you if you want,'

'Don't you dare!' She replied. 'If you need me, I'm here.' She turned back to the mugs, before flushing a deepest red. She was such a hot mess, damn it.

It was only a few short minutes before she returned to where he was, a steaming mug in each hand. 'Here.' She said simply, offering him one.

He had closed his eyes, but now peeked at her, smiling. His eyes went to the mug, before smiling a little wider. 'I never took you for a Ladybug and Chat Noir die hard.' He took the red and black spotted mug from her hands, before taking in the scent. 'Hot chocolate?'

'Only the best.' She smiled back, proffing her own Chat themed mug at him. 'And the cups were a gift from Alya, she's the die hard.'

He blew on it gently, before taking a tiny sip. 'It is the best,' he said gratefully. He looked up at her again. 'I'm really sorry to just drop in on you like this, I really should have called ahead, but I was already on the metro, and,' he took a steadying breath. 'Are you seriously sure about me being here being ok?'

She settled herself carefully on the couch next to him. 'It's fine, stay as long as you need.' She took a sip of her own mug, then looked at him. 'Do you want to talk about it?'

'Maybe-,' he sighed, unable to keep eye contact. 'Maybe later. My father's being a jerk. Nino's covering for me, he'll swear black and blue that I'm there so you're not caught up.'

She shook her head. She knew the legends of his father, mostly told by Nino through graphic pantomime. 'You don't have to worry about that. Have you eaten?'

He made to reply, but his stomach made itself known instead. He half-heartedly glared down at it. 'We're fine.'

She pulled a face. 'I haven't yet either.' I just woke up, like an idiot. 'I'll get something delivered in a little bit. Do you like chinese food? There's this place that's nearby that's pretty good, I found it when I first got here, their garlic chicken is delicious,' oh god I'm rambling, 'what do you think?'

He smiled at her tiredly. 'That sounds good.' 

She smiled back, feeling the blush creeping up her cheeks, but she beat it back down. 

Her phone buzzed, and she noticed him stiffen.

She picked it up off the coffee table, careful not to spill her drink. 'It's from Alya.' She watched him relax, wrapping his hands around the warm mug. 'She's checking in to make sure you got here safe.' She replied quickly, watching her return message send through. 

Alya's quick, teasing response had her blushing to her roots, and she nearly threw the phone facedown onto her coffee table. 

'Everything alright?' He questioned, looking up from his mug at the movement.

'Y-yes!' She very nearly squeaked, before clearing her throat. 'Yes, she's just being mean.' She shrugged awkwardly. 'You know how she is.'

He gave a small grin in return. 'That I do. If nothing else, Nino seems to be physically unable to not brag about her.'

She smiled in return, thankful for the easy topic of conversation for her heart.

* * *

When the Chinese food got there, she offered to put a movie on, which he gladly accepted.

During it, Marinette definitely noticed he was struggling to keep his eyes open, and when the credits rolled he was fast asleep.

She cleared away the leftovers, and threw a blanket over him, unwilling to jostle him further.

Clearly, he was far more exhausted than what he let on.


	2. Bread is Bread

Marinette was standing at her bedroom door, conflicted. 

She had been adament about letting the disasterously attractive (even in his sleep) guy on her couch sleep as long as he needed to, but it was starting to push into the afternoon.

'It's probably not good for him to sleep the entire day away,' Tikki hissed at her from her shirt collar.

'But what if he really needs it? He just looked so exhausted when he came in last night,' Marinette stressed. 'I don't know if I could. If he's really only here to rest and recoup, shouldn't we let him do that?'

Tikki hummed, looking at the mess of blonde hair. 'Why don't you give it a bit longer, and if he doesn't wake up by himself by then, then do it? He'll need to rehydrate, and eat something, if nothing else.'

Marinette frowned slightly, before moving to tiptoeing past him.

Yet right as she passed him, she hit the coffee table, causing him to shift. 

'No, Nathalie, I can't wear that,' he mumbled, 'it's a fish.' He buried his face into the cushion. 'Not for the school dance,'

Marinette was intrigued, yet in her haste to get her balance she stumbled, and landed on the couch next to him.

'I can't, I don't want to embarrass Lady-' His eyes snapped open at the motion, and he sat up, blinking. '-bug?'

Marinette flushed to her roots, jumping back to her feet. 

Adrien looked around, before looking up at her. 

His hair was mussed, reminding her strikingly of Chat's, his clothes rumpled, and his cheeks were flushed from a heavy sleep. He raised one hand to rub at his face. 'What time is it?'

Hell, if she didn't want to kiss him right then and there. 

A tiny nudge from her collar brought her back to reality. 'Oh, um, it's, nearly one.'

He stared at her blankly for a moment, before frowning. 'Really?? Wow, I'm so sorry,'

'You don't need to apologise,' Marinette flapped at him. 'You obviously needed it. Are you feeling alright?'

He rubbed one eye, before pausing, and his shoulders slumped slightly, like he'd taken on a heavy weight. He smiled brightly up at her, one she didn't believe for a second. 'Yeah, thanks for asking. Can I use your bathroom?'

She nodded, gesturing to the door, and he sprang to his feet. 

As soon as the door closed, Tikki flew out and landed on her shoulder. 

'Maybe he's stressed from work?' Marinette questioned, looking at the closed door.

Tikki shook her head. 'I think there's something else at play.' There was a hint to her tone that Marinette missed. 'It's good of you to let him stay.'

'Of course, Tikki. I wasn't going to turn him away!' She turned towards the kitchenette. 'Before anything else, he's my friend. I'll do anything I can for my friends.'

Tikki eyed her. 'It's not because you have that massive crush on him?'

Marinette coloured, before opening the coffee container. 'It's not to do with that at all.'

Tikki pulled a face at her. She floated over to the cookie jar, flipped open the lid and took a cookie.

However when Marinette went for the milk, Tikki went for the cheese.

'Cheese, Tikki? That's unusual,' Marinette noticed. 

'Oh, yeah, uh, I felt the desire.' Tikki replied quickly. 'I'm going to eat by the window, ok? I'm sure Adrien will be out in a minute.'

Confusedly, Marinette watched her float off to the livingroom window overlooking the street, where Marinette kept a few potted herbs bathed in sunlight. 

Shrugging, she went back to her coffee preparations, and indeed it was only a few minutes before Adrien appeared.

'Do I smell the essence of the gods?' He questioned, drifting towards her, looking much more lively.

'It's only instant,' she said a little breathlessly.

'The gods do not care.' He said solomnly, taking a mug from the counter. 

He winked at her, causing her to suddenly need a bracing hand on the counter, before he returned over to her couch. 

She watched him for a long moment, sipping at her own coffee, as he once again made himself comfortable amongst her cushions.

'Hey,' she said suddenly, 'in a little bit, do you want to make some bread with me?'

He paused, before looking up at her. 

'Fair warning, I've never baked anything before in my life. I'd hate to destroy your oven.'

She turned to face him and smiled widely. 'Oh don't worry, we won't even get to the oven part until much later. For now, all you have to do is make the dough, and there's nothing like it after a rough time of it.'

He stared at her blankly, upon which his phone took the opportunity to start ringing.

He started, pulling his phone from his pocket so quickly that he nearly dropped it, before almost throwing it facedown onto the coffee table.

Marinette watched him with a hint of confusion, as he tried to settle back casually into the couch. 'Who is it?'

'Oh, it's Nathalie. Don't worry.' He attempted a wave of his mug, which threatened to spill its contents. 'What were you saying? Something about making bread dough?'

She nodded slowly, and he sprang to his feet, obviously eager to be away from the device. 'What do we need? Milk? Eggs? Sugar?' He strode over to where she was, and opened a cupboard door at random. Marinette's carefully stacked crockery stared back at him stubbornly. 

'Um, you don't need to worry about any of that,' Marinette said, unsure how to react to his behaviour, 'It's not a cake, just bread. Flour, water, yeast, salt. It's actually pretty easy.'

The phone cut off, and Adrien visibly relaxed. He closed the cupboard door slowly. 

'Are you alright?' She questioned, and he looked at her tiredly, before shaking his head. 

'Oh, yeah, don't worry about it.' 

His body language defied his words, and she only worried more. 'Well, alright. Can you get two mugs out of that cupboard next to you?'

He did so, looking at her with a hint of confusion. 'You use mugs to make bread?'

'You do when your measuring cups are currently full of pins and buttons.' Marinette smiled at him. She went to her pantry and pulled out a large packet of flour. 'Under the mugs, can you get two of the mixing bowls?'

'Now that sounds more like bread.' He managed the task, setting them onto the counter carefully.

While he did that, she poured flour into the two mugs. Little puffs of it spilled onto her counter, but she didn't seem to care. 'Alright, take one of these and put it in your mixing bowl.'

He did so, while she did the same, before looking at her. 'Is it alright to make a mess like this?'

'Oh honey, you haven't seen anything yet.' She smiled at him, then slamming her gaze down to refill the mugs, flushing hard.

They put another cup and a half of flour into the bowls, then Marinette pulled out the yeast. She put a well-practiced dollop into her bowl, before instructing him to measure out enough to cover the floor of his mug, then put it in.

'And look at that, you're well on your way to making bread!' She smiled at him. 'Now you need to quickly mix it through.' 

He looked at the mix, then looked at her. She already was tossing her mix with expert fingers, something he couldn't help but admire. 

With his non-ringed hand he mixed it through carefully, while she took their mugs and filled them with water. 'What are you doing now?' He asked her, watching her refill the kettle.

'I'm getting the water for the mix.' She sat it down on its stand and flicked the switch.

'Won't it be too hot?' He said with an air of panic. 

'No, I'm not going to let it boil, I just want to heat it up slightly. The yeast is a living thing, and it needs warm water to thrive.'

'Oh, right.' 

She stood with her hand against the side of the kettle, waiting for what was obviously peak temperature. 

As she waited, she suddenly realised how close they were standing, his eyes expectantly on the silver kettle. 

She could hear Alya's teasing voice now. 'Go get him, girl!' 

'Um, so,' she started, and he looked up at her with green, green eyes. She felt her insides melt slightly. 'Are you feeling any better this morning? Today, I mean?'

He smiled slightly. 'That has to be the most amount of sleep at any one time I've gotten in months. Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.'

Her replying smile was nervous. 'So you haven't been getting a lot of sleep?' Not that she was one to talk. Between her fashion internship, her side work, and Ladybug, sleep was a rarity indeed.

He shrugged, with a trace of sheepishness. 'It's been, busy.' The glance he threw over his shoulder had sadness in it though. 'I've been pretty run off my feet trying to stop everything from falling apart.'

Welling her courage, she reached with her free hand and tapped him on the nose. 'Well, I'm proud of you.' She smiled warmly.

Moving quickly, she picked up the now warmed kettle and started pouring, trying to distract herself from her failing nerve.

He stared at her for a moment, wide eyed, with a slight flush rising unbidden to his cheeks. 

He shook his head quickly, before peering down at the now filled mugs. She offered one to him, and he looked between it and her. 'What am I supposed to do with it? Mix it through too?'

'Exactly.' She did so with hers, pouring carefully. 'Then you want to mix it through with your hands.' She picked up her bowl and moved it over to the small dining table she had by the window, eager for the larger space.

Tentatively he poured his, before looking down at the mixture. 'Isn't there a mixer for this kind of thing?'

She shrugged, squeezing the mix between her fingers. 'When you work in a bakery or you have the cash. But this is better.'

He looked between his own mix and the ring on his hand, grimancing slightly. 'It'll come off, right?' He followed her carefully over to the table, placing the bowl down facing her.

'Sure it will. Go on,' she encouraged. 

Hesitantly at first, he ran his fingers through the mix. 

'This feels so weird.'

'I told you it was fun.' She had already brought the mix into something that could be considered a dough, and he couldn't help but admire her skill. 

'I know it sounds obvious, but you're really good at this.' He smiled at her, before returning his gaze to his mix, and mixing with more vigor. 

'That's the way,' she smiled at him. 'Mix it all the way through.' She paused, her eyes on his hands. 'Are you sure you don't want to take your ring off?'

'Oh,' he chuckled slightly nervously. 'Don't worry about it. Like you said, it'll come off.'

She looked at him for a moment, before looking down at her mix.

He'd never noticed it before, but she stuck out her tongue slightly as she concentrated. It was incredibly endearing.

They worked in comfortable silence, getting increasingly sticky fingers while the dough collected. He followed her instructions of making the dough into a ball, then running the ball around the bowl to pick up any excess flour.

Once completed, he looked at her with a hint of triumph in his eyes. 'What next?'

'Now, as my dad calls it, we just have to wait for it to bomf.' She smiled a mischevious grin.

'To what?' He said confusedly. 'Bomf?'

She went and washed her hands in her sink, then gestured for him to do so as well. 

While he did, she grabbed some tea towels from a drawer, and placed them over the mixing bowls.

'Yup,' she said, turning her oven timer for an hour, as he dried his hands with a hint of fear. 'Bomf.'


	3. Sunshine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just getting longer, and longer haha
> 
> Hope you like it!

Almost immediately after setting the timer for the dough, Adrien's phone rang again. 

He flinched, but upon picking up the phone, he realised, 'it's Nino.' He said aloud. He looked at her. 'Do you mind if I answer?'

She blinked at him. 'Of course you can answer.'

He did so, and Nino's grinning face filled the screen. _'Hey dude!'_

'Hiya, Nino. How's your event?' He grinned back. He sat down heavily on the couch, and Marinette hovered in the kitchenette area awkwardly. 

_'Dude, we are not here to talk about me. Alya said you got to Marinette's ok?'_

'Yes, safe and sound.' He turned the phone in Marinette's direction. 'Say hello!'

'Hey, Nino,' Marinette said, approaching. 'We're making bread.'

Nino looked between them. _'You sure that's a wise idea?'_

'He's actually doing great.' Marinette stuck her tongue out. She sat down next to Adrien. 'Better than your first attempt.'

_'Marinette, you're biased and we both know it.'_ Nino winked at her, and she pulled a face at him.

'Now now,' Adrien grinned. 'Just because I have talent doesn't mean I want to cause any fights,'

_'I'm sure you'll be inheriting the bakery soon enough.'_ Nino grinned right back knowingly. 

_'Nino!'_ Marinette shot at him.

_'I'm just telling it like it is.'_ Nino's smile held out a little longer, before turning his gaze to Adrien. _'How're you holding up, bro?'_

Adrien's smile clouded over. 'Better, thanks for asking. And thanks for covering for me.'

_'Of course! By the way, Nathalie called me, like, super late last night. I swore up and down you were with me, but didn't want to talk. Sound fair?'_

'Sound's fair.' Adrien's face did not lighten. 'Thanks, Nino.'

Nino gave him a thumbs up with a grin. _'Listen, I'm going to get you some merch from this thing. What do you want? Hats? Mugs? Shirts? The most godawful lanyard I've ever seen in my life?'_

'You don't have to do that,' he shook his head.

'Sign me up for that lanyard!' Marinette grinned. 

_'Fair warning, orange and pink are not colours that were ever supposed to mix.'_ Nino raised his eyebrows, then shrugged. _'That's easy then. They're practically paying people to take them. Adrien?'_

Adrien let out a breath. 'Well if you're offering, then surprise me. Anything but the lanyard.'

_'Deal.'_ There was a noise from off screen, and Nino glanced up at it, before looking back. _'I gotta go, duty calls.'_ He looked at Adrien. _'Love you, man.'_

'You too,' Adrien replied, and Nino ended the call.

'"Surprise me"?' Marinette grinned at him. 'You're going to end up with a pink and orange shirt with those fighting words.'

Adrien grimanced over a smile. 'Well, here's hoping. Listen,' he got to his feet. 'I might just go for a walk. Clear my head. If you don't mind.'

She watched him head towards the door. 'Sure, don't worry about it. If you're a little late the bread won't spoil.' He put his hand on the doorknob. 'When you leave the building, if you turn left and head towards the river, there's a nice garden, if you were interested.' She added, wringing her hands together. 

He smiled at her. 'That sounds nice. I'll be back soon.'

He stepped through the door, and closed it behind him with a click.

Marinette found herself letting out a breath. 

Tikki flew over to greet her, looking anxious. 'Are you alright?'

'I could ask him the same thing.' 

Tikki shook her head. 'There's something big that's up.' She looked at her. 'Hey, why don't we go for a run as well?'

Marinette frowned slightly. 'What, now? What if Adrien gets back and we're not here?'

'Then we can just say we slipped out for a second. Come on, you need to work out that pent up energy.' Tikki grinned. 

'Well, alright,' Marinette stood, once again grateful for having her own place. 'Transforme-moi!'

A flash of pink, and Ladybug headed for the window, throwing it open.

In a few deft movements she was swinging across the street, and taking deep lungfuls of the fresh Parisian day. 

Tikki was right, she had been spending too much time inside. 

Yet, she was only a few streets over when she caught sight of a flash of black.

She changed course easily, eager for her cheerful feline friend, and found him hovering near to where she had suggested to Adrien not a few minutes ago. Perhaps she would catch sight of him?

'Salut, Chat!' She called out to him, and he started, spinning on his toes. 

He relaxed upon spotting her, grinning with a hint of relief. 'Good afternoon, my lady! It's always a pleasure to see you. What brings you out on this fine sunny day?'

'Oh, I've been trapped inside all week.' Ladybug leant against the chimney a few paces from him. 'There's nothing like getting outside on a day like this. How about you?'

He shrugged. 'Hey!' He pointed along the riverbank. 'André is down there, shall we get some ice cream?'

She smiled ruefully. 'This suit doesn't exactly fit my purse, I don't want to take advantage of him.'

'No, no,' Chat was already starting towards the icecream vendor. 'After the whole Glaciator incident he insisted that we can stop by anytime. Come on!'

'Chat!' She exclaimed as he leapt off the building, and she hastened to follow.

* * *

They leant easily against the railing of a balcony above the Seine, looking out over the gleaming wather.

'I thought he was going to have a heart attack.' Ladybug smiled. 'He was so surprised to see us take him up on his offer.'

Chat admired his ice cream in the sun. 'Man, I love cherry ice cream. We could easily cure akumas just by militarizing this stuff.'

'It's too sweet for me,' she replied. 'Plus, it turns your tongue red. Nope, André has the best choice for me, me and my mint chocolate chip are going to get along great.'

'What's wrong with having a red tongue?' Chat demonstrated his. 'You worried I'm stealing your colour?'

'I'm not the one with the "charcoal activated vanilla". That tongue of yours will match my suit down to the ground.'

He shrugged easily. 'Well, suit yourself.' He winked.

'Har har,' she took a bite to distract herself. 

He busied himself with his own ice cream for a moment, before pausing. He looked down at his feet for a moment, before refocusing his gaze on his cone. 

'Hey, I know you said you're super busy at the moment,' he started, almost hesitantly. 'But I probably won't be able to keep up the patrols in your absence. Something's come up, I'm sorry.'

'What?' She asked, confused for a moment. 'Oh, right. Yeah, don't worry about it.' She had suddenly more piled on her plate what with Adrien, she knew how life could be.

His ears flattened. 'I mean! I know I said I'd help cover, and I'll get out when I can, but things got really busy suddenly, I'm sorry.' 

'I need to get back out into it, I've put too much-' she started, but he was hunching in on himself in a way she'd never seen before.

'You were counting on me, and, I just wanted to give you a fair warning in case I couldn't live up to it.' He was gripping his cone too hard, it was making uncomfortable creaking noises. 'I-'

'Chat Noir.' Her hand landed on his shoulder, making him start. 'It's fine. I put too much pressure on you. I'll handle whatever patrols you need me to.'

He took in a shaky breath. 'Y-yeah, thank you. I, sorry,' he noticed the runny drip of ice cream over his knuckles, and carefully changed hands to try to shake off the droplets.

'Don't worry about it.' Ladybug looked at him carefully. 'Are you alright?'

He took a steady bite of his ice cream to consider his reply. 'I, yeah, sorry. The people I live with have been driving me crazy. I've just been trying to, clean up the mess.'

'The housemates again?' Ladybug bumped his shoulder. 'From the messes they've made over the years, you sound like the best one of the bunch.'

He smiled grimly. 'Yeah, it's a messy household.' He raised his cone to hers. 'But I get to share ice cream on a beautiful day with a beautiful lady.'

Her face was skeptical, but she raised her own to clink them. 

'Do you have anyone to help you out?' She questioned through a moutful of mint choc chip.

He made to reply, before flapping his hand frantically in front of his face. 'Arg! Why doesn't superpowers protect me from brain freeze!'

Ladybug could only laugh, as her partner slowly found his composure again with flaming cheeks. 

'Why, are you offering?' He managed. There was a sadness behind his grin, despite the bravado. 'Because there's a whole lot of eggshells that got left around. And then they blamed me for stepping on one!' He rolled his eyes dramatically.

'I don't know how you manage it.' Ladybug smiled ruefully.

He laughed slightly. 'I'm joking. No, I have a couple of friends helping me survive it. Don't worry. I'll be just fine.'

She looked at him for a long moment. 'Chat, have you considered breaking your lease and moving out?'

He paused, staring back. 'I, couldn't do that,'

'But,' her lips had made a grim line. 'If you're always the one on cleanup duty, then who's keeping an eye out for you?'

He was quiet, considering her, before letting out a breath. 'You know what? I'll think about it.'

'You can't talk to me about it properly; why don't you talk to those "couple of friends" about it?' 

He smiled slightly, but shrugged. 'Maybe I will.' He languidly turned his shoulders towards her. 'Maybe I should introduce you someday.' He turned away again, facing an imaginary figure. 'Hello Friend A, I'd like you to meet my best friend. Maybe you've heard of her?'

'You're full of it.' She laughed regardless. 'You couldn't find a single person in Paris who couldn't recognise us.'

'It's the burden we bare.' He was nearly finished of his ice cream, and now took the last few bites. 'I should get back.'

'Still cleaning?'

'Oh, my lady, you have no idea. Though a late lunch may be in my future if I play my cards right.' He smiled, rubbing the napkin over his claws. 

She finished the last of her own cone, and looked at him half-judgingly. 'Ice cream before lunch?'

'You know it.' He winked at her. 'I'll see you around, Buignette.' He stepped up onto the balcony edge.

'I'll take the next patrol.' She said, resting her hand on her arm. 'You look after yourself, ok?'

'That means a lot.' He shot her a lopsided grin, before allowing himself to tip over the edge, plummeted for a moment, before catching himself and was over the next building in a blink.

Ladybug watched him go, hoping things would work out for the best.


	4. Bomf

Marinette was back as the timer for the bread dough went off, and Adrien was knocking on the door some fifteen minutes later.

He was breathless when she opened it for him, and raised her eyebrows in surprise when he proffed a paper bag. 

'I stopped by the delicatessen on the way back.' He grinned. 'Maybe we enjoy it with some fresh bread when it's done.'

'That's a great idea,' Marinette smilled, allowing him to pass into the apartment. 'Did you have a nice walk?'

'I did,' he nodded, putting the bag carefully onto a chair. 'The weather is great today. Did I miss the timer?'

She followed him over, and peered into the bag. 'Yes, but not by much. Like I said, it doesn't matter. As long as you don't accidently fall asleep, or forget about it for a few days,' she glanced sideways, looking sheepish. 

'Who knew bread could be so stressful?' He was looking at the covered bowls curiously, and she approached. 

'Are you ready?' She questioned devilishly, her hands on the edges of the tea towels covering the bowls. 

'Will they have changed much? I don't know what to expect.'

'Three, two, one,' she pulled the cloths back with a flourish. 'Bomf.'

He stared down in amazement. 'They're huge!' He picked up his bowl, and was suprised by the added weight. 'They must've doubled in size!'

'Something like that, yes.' Marinette smiled. 'It's the yeast.' 

'What do we do next?'

'Well,' she went and grabbed the bag of flour. 'This is the part where we knead it.' She sprinkled a light dusting over the table in front of him, and he got a gleam in his eye.

'Oh! I know this part!' He raised the bowl above his head, and was surprised by being nearly tackled by Marinette. 'Hey!'

'Don't throw it down!' She exclaimed, almost glaring up at him. 

'What? Why?' He questioned, lowering the bowl slightly. 'It's what the movies do?'

'If you do it, you'll squish all the air pockets out of it, and your bread will have the density of a brick.' She relaxed, before flushing hugely. She had somehow managed to wedge herself between him and the table, her hands against his raised arms, and was almost flush against him. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.'

He shrugged, a soft pink spreading across his cheeks. 'You're the chef. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you either.' He smiled slightly. 'I'll just put this down, before you jump me.' 

Carefully, he lowered the bowl to the table behind her, before grinning.

She blinked. 'Your tongue's red.'

He flushed a little more, looking guilty. 'Oh, um,' He looked down, before looking at her again. 'That ice-cream guy, André, was down on the river. I thought I'd get some while I was there. Sorry,'

True, she had had some herself. 'You don't need to apologise. Let me guess, you got the cherry?'

'Is it that obvious?' He laughed, but still had a guilty look about his face. 'I really shouldn't have,'

'Really, don't worry about it. I would have done the same in your shoes.' She had. 'I hope you didn't spoil your appetite?' She found herself winking at him, as if she was Ladybug. 

He turned a shade darker, his eyes going a little wider. 'You, well, l-luckily I didn't get a lot?' He gestured to the bag of deli goods. 'I should have gotten some ice cream for you.'

She brushed him away, still amazed how long her nerve was holding out. Thank god she wasn't fourteen anymore. 'Even dough I'd be too busy to eat it.' 

He stepped back, and immediately turned his face away to cover the furious blush that rivalled the cherry ice cream. 'A-ah, you're right. Good point.' 

Obliviously, she watched him curiously while he struggled to regain control of his face. 'Are you alright?'

'S-sorry,' he said, and after a moment was back. 'So how can we get the dough out of the bowls without slam dunking it?'

'Well,' she went around the table to her own dough, sprinkled down her own flour and started carefully easing the dough out of the bowl with practiced fingers. 'It's easy when you've got the hang of it. It should come all together fairly easily though, but you have to be gentle.'

He watched her for a moment, before looking down at his bowl. 'You're really good at this sort of thing.' He tried to mimic her, carefully prying the dough out like it might bite him.

She flushed. 'Well, I was raised in a bakery after all, it's not that surprising,'

'No, you're a woman of many talents.' He smiled. 'You can cook, you can sew, you can make clothes that even impresses-,' he cut himself off, pausing as the last of his dough tipped gently onto the table.

She paused in her kneading, looking between him and his dough. 'Here.' She moved to stand behind him, and used his hands to carefully turn the dough over. 'Then you just start pulling on the sides, and folding it back in. Gently.' She reminded him, releasing his hands to demonstrate the motion. 

He followed her movements, folding the dough carefully. 'Thank you.' After a few tries he had the motion down, and she moved back to her own dough quietly.

They worked in silence for a time, yet as it slid past Adrien's face slipped from one of concentration to more and more downcast, a pinch forming between his eyebrows.

'Do you want to talk about it?' She asked, having watched his face out of the corner of her eye.

He sighed, his eyes on his dough. 'My father and I had a huge fight.' He paused to watch her hands for a moment, then adjusted his own to mimic hers more carefully. 'It's probably not that surprising.' 

She let out a breath, not looking up at him. 'Do you want to tell me what happened?'

He was quiet for a long moment, a moment long enough that she was going to take it for a no, until he spoke. 'It's been happening a lot lately. What with the anniversery of my mother disappearing and all.' He did not take his eyes away from his work, grateful to have something to do with his hands. 'She was so sick before, he doesn't know but I remember it so clearly. She always tried to keep it from me, she tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but I knew.'

'I'm sorry,' Marinette breathed, not daring to do anything else. 

'It's not your fault.' He chuckled darkly. 'I don't know much of the details about it. Just that she kept getting sicker, and then she disappeared. We never saw her again. That was a few months before I came to your school, before I met you and Nino and Alya.' He paused in his folding, before restarting. 'I don't really remember how the fight started, but I knew how it finished.' 

He finally looked up at her; he was distraught. 'I swear, it's not my fault she disappeared. It's not my fault she got sick. You have to believe me.' 

Tears rose unbidden to her eyes. 'Of course not. Adrien, it's not your fault.' She rubbed at her face as they threatened to spill, her dough forgotten before her. 

'I didn't even know she was gone until after; they all tried to keep it from me. Please, I had nothing to do with it,' the corners of his mouth had turned down, and he looked like he was fighting back tears of his own. Her heart squeezed painfully. 

She moved around the table, and opened her arms. 'It's not ok right now,' she said, 'but it will be. I'm here for you.'

He abandoned his dough without a second thought, and threw his arms around her, squeezing her tightly and burying his face into her shoulder. 'I'm sorry, I didn't know,' his voice was shaking. 'Please don't be angry,'

'I'm not mad at you, you've done nothing wrong.' She squeezed him back, her own tears falling freely. 

'But I did, I ruined the painting on my way out the door,' it wasn't only his voice that was shaking, and very small. 'I was angry and I tipped it, and it fell down the stairs and broke...'  
'Which painting?' She rubbed his back gently, not caring about the flour. 

'The black one, the one from just after she disappeared.' 

She spoke slowly, as if testing out the words. 'I never liked that painting anyway, you looked so miserable in it that I just couldn't bare to even look.'

'The frame was in so many pieces, and the canvas caught and tore on the handrail on the way down,' he gulped. 'There was glass everywhere, I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry,'

'Adrien, it's going to be alright,' she murmered. 'I'm just glad you got out of there safely. I'm glad you came away and stayed with one of your friends instead of staying there a moment longer.'

'I've never seen him so angry before,' she could feel the dampness on her shoulder. 'I was scared he was going to get akumatised again, I was so scared,' 

Marinette couldn't find anything to say, her heart ached with the sadness that radiated out from the usually calm person before her. 

'I didn't know, I was only a kid at the time, it's not my fault,' he shuddered. 'Why didn't Natalie do anything? She was right there, she saw it all, I-I thought she was on my side, she was angry too,'

Marinette had never seen him like this before, it broke her heart. 'It's going to be ok,' she soothed. 

'I don't know how he could ever forgive me, I don't know what I'm supposed to do,' 

Suddenly his phone went off, with the worst timing. Shakily he pulled it out of his back pocket, and dropped it almost immediately like it had bit him. 

Marinette looked down, to see the stern face of his father's icon looking up at them. 

'I can't, I can,'t,' Adrien stammered, pulling away.

She looked between it and his white face, before drawing a breath. 'Adrien, go sit on the couch.' 

'What?' He managed, looking at her. He was a mess, one that she would protect absolutely.

'Go sit on the couch. Do it.' She pointed, almost hating herself for the stern note that came into her voice. 

'A-alright,' he moved carefully, pitifully, and she reached down for the phone. 

With quick, deft movements, she had the back off of it and the battery in her hand. The sudden silence was deafening, and she heard him draw a shuddering breath. 

She crossed to the couch, where he sat looking at his hands in his lap, like a punished schoolboy. She presented the battery to him, and he looked between it and her.

She took one look at his face, and reached to present the tissue box next to the couch to him as well. 

He took a tissue gratefully, hiding his face with it. 'I-I'm sorry, you didn't have to see that,' he started.

She sat next to him carefully, and rested a hand on his shoulder, rubbing soothing circles. 'I'm glad you were able to tell me. You did great.'

'B-but-'

She raised her eyebrows at him slightly. 'Do I need to call Alya? Because she will certainly kick your butt into next week for thinking you're a burden on us.'

He gave a watery chuckle. 'She probably would. I'm still sorry though. I've probably ruined the bread.'

Marinette shrugged. 'A little extra salt won't hurt it. This is why it's good to make bread after a tough time. When you work the bread it's easier to work through other things as well.'

He peeked at her with puffy eyes. 'You're so wise, Marinette. Anyone would think you were Ladybug herself.' 

Her face froze, but managed to force herself not to twitch. 'Wellll, maybe I could give her some tips.' She elbowed him playfully, and he managed a slight smile. 

He took a deep breath, before looking at her properly. 'Thank you, Marinette.' He looked down at the battery on his knee, and visibly slumped. 'I don't know what I'm going to do about that.' The more he stared, the more miserable he looked.

Before she knew it, her hand was on his cheek, and he started slightly, looking back at her. 'You can take your time and think about it.' She said gently. 'And you can stay here as long as you want while you figure it out.'

He blinked at her. 'A-are you sure? I don't want to be a bother, I'd have to go back event-'

'You don't have to go back.' She cut him off, and was unapologetic. 'You don't have to go back there at all.' For the second time today, she was giving advice to fly the coop. 'If nothing else, you're one of my best friends, Adrien. You may have noticed that I'm here for you.'

He smiled slightly. 'You're not the first person to tell me that.'

'I'm not surprised.' Marinette replied. She looked at him for a moment. 'And I'm not angry at you. None of your friends are. Anyone who is angry at you right now is simply wrong.' She hesitated. 'And also, maybe apart from the painting, nothing is your fault. And it was a terrible painting anyway, so it hardly matters.' She smiled slightly at him. 'If he puts up anything like it to replace it, I'll help you throw it from the top of the house.'

He stared at her for a moment, before nodding slowly. He took a deep breath, and released it, his shoulders relaxing as he did so. '"From the top of the house", that's such an Alya thing to say.' He nearly smiled.

She shrugged, retracting her hand with a pang of regret. 'It rubs off. And it gets the point across.'

He rubbed at his face again. 'We should get back to the bread.'

'Are you okay with that?' She asked.

He looked at the battery for a moment, before moving it to the arm of the couch. 'Yeah.' He stood, stretched for a moment, before offering his hand to her.

Almost without thinking she took it as she stood, and the two stood for a moment with their fingers intertwined. 

'...I didn't know you counted me as one of your best friends.' He said, after a moment.

She nodded, looking down. 'I want to be there for you if you need me.' 

'I think you've proven that by now.' He gave her a half-grin. 

'I hope so.' She smiled back softly. 

He blinked at her twice, and flushed red. 'W-well, I want to go and wash my face before I work on the bread again, I don't want to scare those air-bubbles off.'

'O-ok,' she said, watching him flee into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

After a moment, Tikki appeared over her shoulder. 'You did great, Marinette.'

'I just hope that it was enough.' Marinette replied, a slew of emotion racing across fer face.


	5. It's Time

An incessant buzzing sound woke Marinette, and it took her a moment to come to her senses.

Yes, she was on the couch, they had finished kneading the bread until it did not want to be stretched, and Adrien had come around to the idea of staying for longer. They had put the doughs into tins, cut their first initial into the top, put water into a tray on the base of the oven, and Adrien had had the honour of putting his first bread into the oven. 

If all went to plan, he would be able to pull his first loaf out of the oven as well some forty five minutes later. 

Which was what the timer was for.

Right.

Marinette looked about herself blearily, as the timer shut itself off automatically. 

Her next move was to have a silent heart attack. 

Tikki appeared over the back of the couch, and a knowing look came over her face. 

'Looks like he's nice and cozy.' Tikki whispered gleefully.

Indeed, Adrien had tipped in his sleep until he was leaning against her, his face against the length of her shoulder.

'I didn't mean to fall asleep!' She hissed back. 'He's so close!'

'He must feel like he's comfortable around you.' Tikki fought back a laugh.

Marinette waved the kwami away, before pausing. 'Tikki, could you turn the oven off? I don't want the bread to burn, but,' she gestured down to Adrien. 

'Sure,' Tikki grinned. 'Aren't you going to wake him up though?'

'We talked about this this morning!' Marinette shot back. 'But,' she looked down at him. 'He was really upset before, maybe,'

'Maybe what?' Tikki questioned, zooming over to turn off the heat of the oven. 

Marinette let out a breath, before looking over at her. 'I think him being here is the best thing for him. If he wants to go over to Nino's he can, but Nino only has that one room place, and Alya practically lives there anyway.' She looked down at the mess of blonde hair. 'But I think he needs to spend some time away from home, however he can.' 

'We always knew his father wasn't the greatest to him,' Tikki started politely. 'But to think he said those kinds of things to him. Can you even imagine?'

Marinette shook her head slightly, careful not to jostle the boy. 'I just, I really feel for him. It's a wonder he hasn't been akumatised. He's got to be the only person I know who's not.'

Tikki nodded grimly. 'He's extremely lucky.' 

'I just,' she looked down at the boy after a moment. 'I can't understand why his father acts like this towards his own son. I can't.'

Tikki took a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. 'He's also lucky that he's got friends like you, Nino and Alya.'

Marinette still felt the corners of her mouth turn down. 'I'm Ladybug. I'll protect him no matter what.'

Tikki smiled back at her. 'I'm proud of you, Marinette.'

Adrien shifted, murmuring something in his sleep. 

Tikki pulled back, out of his immediate line of sight, with a knowing grin. 'Who knew the boy talked in his sleep?'

'I don't think I've ever seen him sleeping, he's never been allowed to stay the night for the gang's sleepovers.' Marinette looked up at the cieling. 'That bodyguard of his always picked him up around midnight, whenever he was allowed to come in the first place. I should have said something then.'

'I doubt there was anything you could have said, Marinette.' Tikki landed on her opposing shoulder, and touched her law affectionately.

Marientte smiled for a moment, before turning her gaze back towards the mess of blond hair. 'Adrien,' she nudged him.

His face scrunched up. '...no, I don't want the cheese,' he mumbled. 'Our hamster...'

'Come on Adrien, the bread is ready,' Marinette tried again, touching his shoulder with her free hand. 

After a long moment he hunched slightly. 'Hm? Bread? I-' he froze, before sitting bolt upright, looking back at her and flushing. 'Marinette!'

The girl in question nearly jumped out of her skin. 'Yes!? Sorry!'

'I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, what time is it?' He looked around blearily. 'Is the bread ok?'

'Yes, the bread's ok. Don't worry.' She smiled at him, relaxing. 'Do you know you talk in your sleep?'

His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. 'I had no idea, I'm so sorry. What did you hear?'

She shrugged, peeling herself off the couch. 'Something about a hampster?' 

Her movement made her miss him turning six shades of red. 'O-oh. Sorry.'

'This morning you were talking about taking Ladybug to the school dance.' She smiled back at him, and was surprised to see him darken further. 'Did we even have a school dance?'

'I-it must have been all the movies.' Adrien managed. 'Sorry if I was a bother,'

'Don't worry about it. It's not like you've got any dastardly secrets to hide.'

He somehow managed a grin, and stood up. 'Who knows? Maybe I'm secretly Hawkmoth.'

She gave him a look, before heading towards her oven. 'I doubt you're actually Hawkmoth.'

'How would you know? Have you ever seen us together in the same room?' His grin was catching, and struck her of Chat.

'Adrien, nobody's been seen in the same room as Hawkmoth. Alya said that even Ladybug and Chat Noir have only seen him once, not including the butterfly thing when he first showed up.'

'So you're not denying it.' He waggled his eyebrows at her. 'It could happen.'

She span to face him. 'Well, how do you know I'm not the one who's Hawkmoth?'

He leant forward, crossing his arms with a teasing expression. 'Oh that's easy. You're Ladybug, hands down.'

She couldn't help it; she froze, her hand on the oven, feeling like the next easy step had turned out to be a cliff.

Any rebuttal was lost, it felt like someone had unplugged the muscles in her jaw. 

He threw his head back and laughed, and she could only stare. 'Yeah, there's no way you're Hawkmoth, you're way too good to be anything like him.'

'H-how did you know?' She managed.

'Oh, what? How did I know you're a good person? Am I not standing in your kitchen right now, after making an absolute embarrassment of myself?' He spread his hands wide, gesturing to the tiny kitchenette.

'Um, sure,' she tried to pull herself together, but she was struggling to get back on beat. 

He was looking about himself, but then paused, and tilted his head, his eyes frozen on the oven. 'You're not Ladybug,' he paused, 'are you?' 

'N-no!' She squeaked unconvincingly. 'No way!'

'I'd never really thought about it, but I did see her at that park you recommended when I was getting ice cream.' Slowly, slowly, his eyes turned back to her, taking her in fully. 'And she does always smell like fresh bread.'

She frowned. 'How would you know that?'

He looked at her for a moment longer, before tapping his nose. 'A cat has his secrets.'

She stared at him.

And stared at him longer.

She took in a deep, deep breath, and let it out. 

'Well no wonder your tongue is red, you moron. Don't you think that's a bit risky? What if I had have been Hawkmoth?'

'Hawkmoth wouldn't have taken the bait, nor would he have seen anything innocuous.' He grinned at her, leaning closer. 'I was joking when I said it, you know. You're terrible at keeping secrets.'

'I-I am not!' She shot back, putting her hands on her hips. 'I haven't admitted to anything!'

His eyes turned soft, softer than anything she'd ever seen. 'My lady, I've always been the one who could read you best. Even you've said that.'

She ducked her head, flushing brightly, before seizing the collar of his shirt with two hands and pulling his face down to her eye level. 'I thought I told you that we shouldn't reveal anything.'

'I s-suppose the cat's out of the bag now,' in his surprise he was flushing redder than she was. 

'I thought you said you lived with roommates?' She accused.

'I only ever said it was a messy household.' He replied. 'I just let you think "roommates", because you were always the one talking about anominity?'

She pulled a face at him, then relaxed her grip on his shirt slightly, looking defeated. 

'Hey,' he said after a moment, realizing the tiny distance between their faces, 'can I kiss you?'

She flushed, to the roots of her hair, but frowned. 'Is it because-, I still haven't admitted to anything, you know.'

He shook his head. 'It's not because you're a superhero, or an awful liar.' She pulled a face at him. 'I just, I really, really like Marinette. You're so amazing, with or without the spots.' 

Her eyes widened, and she released his collar in favour of cupping his smiling face. She smiled back, before looking down at her shoes, smile fading.

'I really, really like you too, Adrien. But I think you have other things you should deal with first, before you think about, this.'

He looked at her for a long moment, before letting out a breath of cherries and vanilla. 'I understand.'

Carefully, he took one hand from his cheek, and pressed a kiss into her knuckles. 'Let's get into that bread, before we burn the building down.'

She smiled back at him, her heart full. 'Ok.'


	6. Bread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, but have another chapter of whatever this is haha hope you like it!

When Marinette cut open the bread with practised ease, Adrien could only stare at the steam gently rising.

'Now you're really supposed to wait until it's cooled, but honestly,' she handed him a slice, 'steaming fresh bread is a gift from the heavens. Don't put anything on it, just take a bite first.'

He looked between her and the bread, before taking a tentative nibble.

He chewed for a moment, before hastily shovelling as much as he could fit into his mouth with wide eyes.

''If is fo goo'!!' He exclaimed through a mouthful, looking up at her.

She grinned back, finishing cutting a slice for herself. 'Of course, good bread doesn't need anything else.' She gestured to the slightly wonky A carved into the top of the loaf. 'And this is your one.'

He swallowed hugely. 'Are you sure this is the one I made? There's no way,'

'Yup. You're good at it, it seems.' She started on her slice, with an expert palette. 'Uh huh, nothing beats it.'

'I think all that shopping I did may go to waste' he said, eyeing the charcuterie he had carefully spread on the table a few minutes earlier. 'I won't want anything else after this.'

Marinette grinned at him, before reaching over and taking up a slice of cured meat. 'We'll just have to make it work. There's enough here to last us for a while.'

They chewed quietly for a moment, before both made to speak at the same time.

'So-'

'Are you-'

They paused, grinning awkwardly.

'You go,' Adrien started.

'No, it's fine,' Marinette prompted.

'Please, I insist,'

'There's no need to be polite,' she flapped at him with a free hand.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I'm sure!'

'But-' he started.

'Adrien, just say it.' A hint of exasperation was coming into her voice.

He hesitated, before looking down at his food in embarrassment.

'Well, are you really,' he suddenly seemed to be struggling with his words. 'Are you truly Ladybug?'

Marinette flushed red. 'Are you really Chat Noir?'

He took in a deep breath, and let it out.

'Plagg, why don't you help yourself to the cheese I bought.' He addressed the air around them.

'What makes you think I waited for the invitation?' The air replied, and a black kwami appeared from the direction of the windowsill garden, a wedge of cheese under one miniature arm.

'Tikki? There's fresh bread here,' Marinette also addressed the air, reaching for the bread knife and Adrien's loaf from next to her.

'It smells so good,' Tikki replied, zooming over from the window. 'Thanks, Marinette,'

Marinette frowned at her, the knife paused at the crust of the bread.

'Wait a minute, were you two hanging out together over there?'

The two kwamis exchanged a guilty look.

'No?' Plagg suggested.

Adrien also looked between the two of them. 'Plagg, you knew about Marinette?'

'Tikki, you traitor!' Marinette said, but her heart wasn't in it. 'How long did you two know?'

'Um, forever now,' Tikki said, looking down abashedly.

'Well, not forever forever, it was after we were assigned to you two,' Plagg corrected.

Marinette facepalmed. 'I can't believe this.' She turned her attention to the bread, and Tikki looked crestfallen.

'I hope you're not angry,' Tikki said, 'we were just doing our job,'

In a move of solidarity, Plagg put down his half-eaten cheese and looked up at Marinette.

'No, I'm not mad,' Marinette said, finishing cutting a small slice and handing it to her kwami, 'I'm just surprised. Does this mean you know who the owner of Hawkmoth's kwami is as well?'

'No, it's not like that. You two sat so close to each other in school that it would have been weird if we didn't run into each other.'

'It's not like a magic thing!' Plagg said defensively. 'We really found out when you two had detransformed in front of each other to recharge. It was bound to happen eventually!'

'That's true.' Adrien said thoughtfully. He took another bite of bread.

He chewed for a moment, before reaching forward and placing his hand over hers.

'I'm really glad Ladybug is you, Marinette. I can't think of anyone else who would be better suited.'

Marinette flushed a deep red, her eyes flying between his hand and his soft gaze. 'I-I'm sure there are plenty others who-'

'But they wouldn't be you.' He smiled slightly.

'Oh come on you two, I'm eating here.' Plagg groaned, and Tikki threw a crumb at him.

'You spoilsport. You were young once too.'

* * *

That evening, after more grazing of the day's spoils, and Adrien being resoundly defeated at MechaStrike, he found he was struggling to keep his head up.

They worked to pull out the fold-out bed from the couch, and Marinette disappeared into her bathroom with Tikki in tow.

Adrien watched the door close, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

'I'm going to marry her.' Adrien said, and Plagg rolled his eyes.

'It was only a matter of time.' Plagg replied defeatedly. 'Also you're not doing very well at this whole "not now" business.'

'Well, I can't help it.' Adrien shrugged. He slumped back onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling with a grin. 'She's so wonderful.'

'She cooks well, I'll grant you that. What more do you need in a girl?'

Adrien peeked down at him. 'I'm betting your perfect girl is a cheesemaker.'

'Well, a few Chat Noirs ago I met someone like that, now there was a girl who could balance her work-life-superheroing.' Plagg grinned. 'She'd spend all morning milking cows and making cheese, then the rest of it was for saving lives.' He shrugged. 'Shame she only made hard cheeses, but I saw a bright future for her.' He glanced up at Adrien. 'Though to be honest I like you better, you can buy all the good stuff online.'

'I'm glad to see you care so much.' Adrien shook his head, smiling.

Plagg was quiet for a moment.

'So what are you going to do now?'

Adrien's smile fell.

'Both Marinette and Ladybug were right, even though they were the same person in the end. I don't want to go back home.'

'So you're going to move out?'

'I don't have a lot of things that are important to me for me to take with me, so maybe I already have. I have my miraculous,' he raised his hand to look at it, 'and I have you, what else do I need?'

'Well I'm just glad you bought a toothbrush while you were out today.' Plagg grinned. 'You were starting to smell like some of my delicious cheeses.'

'It wasn't that bad, plus I brushed while I was in the bathroom earlier.'

'Sure sure.'

'But, I don't know what I'm going to do about Father.' He rolled onto his side, curling up slightly. 'I really don't. I do still care about him, but,'

'You want my advice, kid?' Plagg moved to land on his shoulder.

'Sure.'

'You've officially moved out. Give it some distance, it'll give you the space to figure things out.'

'You sound like Marinette.' He smiled slightly.

'Well, it shows the girl's got a good head. Give it a few thousand years, and she'll be almost as good as me.' Plagg grinned.

'Heaven forbid,' Adrien laughed.


	7. The Right Thing

Marinette's eyes snapped open the next morning to a heavy thundering on her front door.

'Oh, jeez, that can't be good,' she managed, already on her feet, scrubbing at her face.

'Nope,' Tikki said, disappearing through the bedroom door.

Marinette was right on her tail, pulling the door open, and her eyes falling on the couch where Adrien was.

Well, where he had been, to say the least.

'Are you alright?' She hissed to where he had fallen in a tangle of sheets, and rushed over.

He nodded, rubbing his head, his face not leaving the front door.

'We know you're in there,' came a curt, feminine voice, causing the two to jump.

'Go through my bedroom, I keep the window unlocked.' She whispered.

'Right,' he breathed, hauling himself to his feet. 'Thank you, Marinette.'

'Coming!' Marinette called back, and watched Adrien slip into her bedroom before turning her front door handle. 'Yes?'

'You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are you not?' Said one Nathalie Sancoeur, hardly blinking at her sudden appearance.

Behind her, Adrien's usual bodyguard loomed, a complex look on his usually gruff demeanour. 

'That would be me, is something wrong?' Marinette was impressed that she was keeping the adrenaline pumping through her from her tone, her eyes flicking between the two.

'I'm looking for Adrien, his phone records show them to be last here at this location.'

Marinette bit back a snarl. 'Really?' She said innocently.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. 'I have reason to believe he may still be here. May I come in?'

'Um, well, my place is a bit of a mess right now,' Marinette managed-

'His father is very concerned after his safety.' Nathalie prompted, taking a step forward.

Behind her the bodyguard shifted slightly, the trace of a frown on his features.

Marinette hung her head. 'Well I think he stopped past quickly, but I've been so buried in work that may have been a while ago...' she shook her head, 'if you're so desperate you can come in quickly,'

She stepped back, hoping that Adrien had had the time to disappear, and Nathalie passed her with barely a sideways glance. The bodyguard peered through momentarily with a look of concern, before clearly choosing to stay outside and watch the door.

'You had someone stay over?' Nathalie pointed immediately to the messy sheets of the pull-out sofa bed, and Marinette blanched behind her.

'Uh, yeah, um,' she thought fast, 'my friend Alya stayed over, she spent the whole weekend here.'

'Oh? Can you prove this?' Nathalie said, turning to look at her with a carefully neutral expression.

Marinette resisted the urge to swear. 'Let me get my phone and I'll text her.'

'I would rather see this evidence for myself.' Nathalie said as she surveyed the bathroom from the open doorway.

'Right, of course you would,' Marinette muttered under her breath as she moved to snatch up her phone from her bedside table.

She had reappeared into the main room by the time the phone was ringing, and Nathalie materialised in front of Marinette as Alya connected the line.

_'Hey girl, what's up?'_ Alya grinned into her phone camera. She was on a sidewalk, and had a chocolate croissant in one hand.

'Uh, hey, Alya,' Marinette managed, 'just checking, you definitely stayed over last night?'

Alya got a gleam in her eye as she laughed. _'Of course! What's with the weird questions, I was there the whole weekend! Speaking of, I left my coat on the coat hook, can you give it to me next time?'_

Nathalie approached the hook in question, and lifted a soft orange and white bomber jacket from the hook, an emblaisoned _Cesaire_  across the shoulders.

'Of course!' Marinette filled in. 'Hey, have you heard anything from Adrien?'

_'No, why?'_ Alya shrugged. _'He works too much, and it's a Sunday. Do you want me to text him or something?'_

'No, it's fine.' Marinette glanced up at Nathalie, who nodded slightly. 'Listen I have to go, but I'll text you?'

_'Sure! Ciao!'_ Alya grinned, before ending the call.

Marinette looked up at Nathalie, lowering her phone.

'I see.' Nathalie handed her a business card. 'If you see him, I would be obliged if you contact me.'

Marinette gazed between the card and the woman. 'Has he done something wrong?'

'No, we just seem to have misplaced him.' Nathalie said evenly.

'Have you called the police? Shouldn't we be looking for him?'

Nathalie pursed her lips almost imperceptibly. 'This is a simple family matter. Adrien will return, provided he doesn't do anything else reckless.'

Marinette straightened. 'Adrien always does the right thing. He's kind, and incredibly caring. I can't imagine him doing anything undeserved. And as you can see,' she gestured around her apartment, 'he's also not here.' She reached and took the business card from Nathalie's proffed hand with a sense of finality. 'But I'll let you know if I see him.'

Nathalie watched her for a moment, before adjusting her glasses. 'I can see that.' She turned, and made for the door. 'I also noticed before I came in, you don't have a fire escape or any secondary entrance to this floor. It's not very accessible.'

'We keep telling the manager to put in an elevator, but he insists that the stairs are sufficient.' Marinette replied levelly. 'It's the fourth floor, it's not like we can jump.'

' _À bien tôt_ , Ms Dupain-Cheng.' Nathalie said, closing the door behind her.

Marinette waited three full seconds, before letting her breath out in a huff.

She slumped back onto the pull-out, staring at the ceiling, utterly spent.

'I can't believe that worked,' she managed, as Tikki reappeared through the ceiling.

'I heard the whole thing! You did great, Marinette!'

'Thanks, Tikki,' Marinette grinned. 'Did you see which way Adrien went?'

'Chat Noir is on the roof, I'll go let him know he can come back.' Tikki smiled in return.

'You're the best. I seriously don't think I could move right now.' Marinette replied.

Tikki vanished again, and Marinette pulled out her phone to send as many heart emojis to Alya that her phone could manage.

_What was that all about?_ Alya replied as soon as the first barrage hit her.

_Adrien's father's secretary paid me a visit looking for Adrien, and she saw the pull-out bed. Marinette typed carefully, hardly believing it herself. How long has that coat been sitting there?_

_Idk, like a week? Or something? I knew it would make for a good excuse_

_Excuse for what???_ Marinette blinked at her phone. _But it sure sold it, she thinks Adrien visited quickly yesterday when he switched his phone off, btw_

_They have a tracking app on his phone???? So messed up!!!! Glad he thought to switch it off, make sure he takes the battery out as well_

_Already done_ Marinette replied.

There was a flash of green from her doorway, and Adrien appeared through it, a grin on his face.

'Did you rent this place just for that window?' He questioned.

'No, I rented it because it had a good oven, and is close to my internship.' Marinette smiled. 'The window is a bonus.'

'Of course.' He moved around the couch, and sat carefully on the edge of the bed. 'So what did you say?'

'I said Alya had been here. I said you weren't. But I think there's a tracking app on your phone.'

Adrien snatched up the battery from the coffee table. 'What? Really?'

'Don't worry, I think when I took that out of it yesterday it shut it off.' Marinette threw an arm over her eyes with a frustrated noise. 'It's all so complicated, I hate that this is happening to you.'

Adrien took her free, extended hand. 'Are you sure that I'm not being a bother?'

She let out an annoyed huff, peeking around her elbow. 'If you say that again I'm banning you from eating any more bread.'

He smiled, before miming a zipping of his lips. 'I can't even imagine the horror of being denied that bread of the gods.'

'Exactly. So buck up.' She dropped her elbow over her eyes again.

Almost subtly, she shifted her hand so that their fingers were intwined. 

'Honestly, who does she think she is, coming over so early?'

'Well, it's seven thirty,' Adrien started, 'maybe she wanted to catch us before work?'

Marinette sat bolt upright. ' _Ohmygod_ , it's that late!?' 

'...yes?' He said, pointing to the clock on the oven.

'I have to be at work in half an hour!' She exclaimed, disappearing into her bedroom at a run.

Adrien blinked. 'Oh, of course.' He looked a little forlornly at his empty hand, before standing. 'Shall I cut you some bread? I can't guarantee my cutting skills,'

'Yes please!' Came her voice through the doorway. 

He moved to the kitchenette and with a certain sense of pride took out the bread he had made. 

She had raced back through the door by the time he had cut a slice and spread jam on it, and he couldn't help but smile at her hasty bun and flushed face.

'You're the best,' she said as she snatched up the offered breakfast from his outstretched hand. 

She had changed from her pyjamas into a simple white button up shirt rolled to her elbows and slacks, and as she stuffed a huge mouthful of bread in she was already reaching for a lanyard on the tv stand that had an ID badge hung from it. 

'Listen, are you going to go to a shoot or something today?' She asked, looking up at him over her fight with the lanyard.

'Probably not, I think I'll continue my streak of hooky. Suddenly my schedule is looking very clear,' he added a little dreamily. 

'I think that's for the best.' She nodded. 'I'm going to take my keys with me, will you be alright using the window?'

'Sure, that's fine.' Adrien nodded. 'Can I get you anything today? I'll have to pay the rent somehow,' he added with a wink.

'You have done more than enough for now.' She pointed out, letting the lanyard fall with a huff to hang off one ear. 'Just take it easy, I'll have a key made for you during my lunchbreak, if I can.'

He blinked at her. '...are you serious?'

'Adrien, I am so serious about you doing what makes you happy, and if you need a place to stay while you do that then you're more than welcome for as long as you want.'

Adrien hesitated, staring at her for a moment, before shaking his head. He closed the few steps between them, and took the lanyard with careful fingers. 

With gentle care, he untangled the lanyard and with both hands lowered it around her neck, and let it rest neatly.

'Marinette, I-'

Her phone buzzed in her hand, and Marinette half-wanted to throw it across the room.

But the spell was broken, and he smiled a little ruefully.

'Have a good day,' he said instead. 'I'll be the very best house-husband I can be.' He winked at her with a roguish grin.

Marinette fumbled behind her for the door, unwilling to look away from his exquisite face and softest eyes. 'Be safe,' she managed, as she pulled the door oopen behind her.

As she headed down the corridor beyond, she knew two things were absolutely certain.

She was going to be late, and she was going to spend the entire metro ride over internally screaming, she was completely sure of it.


	8. Jam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! Things have been flat out, hope some Adrinino Bromance (TM) will make it better

When Nino opened his front door to the sensible knocking, he was looking unsurprisingly dishevelled, but his surprise shone through.

'Dude, what are you doing here?' He asked, throwing a glance around behind him as if half expecting to see a SWAT team chasing the tousled blonde before him.

'Marinette's at work, and I made bread.' Adrien grinned, proffing the basket he held a little higher. 'Not to brag, but I think it's literally the greatest bread ever made in the history of bread. So you have to try it.'

Nino stood aside to let him in, his eyes wide. 

It had been so, so long since he had seen Adrien with such a bounce to his step, or such a broad smile to his lips, that Nino half felt a lump in his throat. 

'I see you've been having a good time at Marinettes, is her place alright for the two of you?' He said instead.

'Absolutely. She's the kindest, most generous person I know.' Adrien set the basket down on the table with a blush creeping over his cheeks. 'I don't know what I would have done without her.'

Nino didn't miss the blush at all, but flopped down onto his couch anyway. 'Dude, I'm sure there are plenty of cardboard boxes that would take you,' he laughed. 'But seriously, I'm glad you're staying with someone to keep an eye on you.'

'You're the one that suggested that,' Adrien pointed out. 'Sorry for blowing up your phone while you were busy.'

'Dude, seriously. You were in trouble, and you needed advice from the highest authority you know.' 

Adrien smiled at him. 'Only the highest would do. Do you have a breadknife?'

'It's in the second drawer down, Alya keeps everything there.' Nino turned to hook his elbows over the back of the couch to look at him. 'Are you sure you're alright staying at Marinette's? I mean, sure, Alya and I are a bit crammed in here what with the spare room being soundproofed for my magic ways, but the couch isn't so bad,' 

'I can't believe you DJ at work, and then come home for more DJing.' Adrien laughed. 'When I get home I don't even want to look a camera in the face. My bathroom mirror just makes me tired with one glance.'

Nino looked at him with sad eyes. '...what about now?'

'Well, my days are free while I'm playing hooky I suppose,' Adrien set the two plates down that he was holding. 'I'm not really sure after that.'

'It's still pretty fresh, I suppose.' Nino watched as Adrien settled the two slices thoughtfully on the plates. 'I'm pretty sure by now Nathalie will have made my excuses for the short term. I kinda feel bad for how much I'm putting onto her as I disappeared.'

'Do they know where you are?'

'No, I'm surprised they haven't called the police. Marinette mentioned that Nathalie had said that he wants to keep it in the family though.' Adrien shook his head.

'What do you mean, have Marinette and Nathalie been talking?' Nino frowned.

'Nathalie came by to Marinette's apartment this morning looking for me. I managed to hide, but...' Adrien trailed off. 'She implied they might have been following my phone.'

Nino blinked. 'Don't tell me you have it on you!' 

'Of course not, I left it back at Marinette's.' Adrien held up the battery for inspection.   
Nino shook his head. 'I can't believe it. I got a phone call from her pretty soon after you disappeared, but I wasn't there to pick up. Not that I'd want to,' 

Adrien flopped down onto the couch next to him, and offered him a plate of bread and jam. 'What do you think I should do, oh highest power I know?'

Nino took the plate gratefully. 'My dude, I think that's a bit up to you. Do you want to go back to the mansion?' 

Adrien stared at his own bread. '...I don't think so.'

'I mean, you're a grown adult now. You don't have to if you don't want to.' Nino shrugged slightly. 'It's not like back when we were teenagers.'

'That's true...'

Nino took a bite. 'I mean, Marinette, Alya and I can all help you find a place if you need-oh _damn_ , dude, never move out you gotta take over the Dupain-Cheng backery ASAP, this is _freakin' awesome_.' He elbowed him for good measure, cramming more bread into his mouth.

'I was pretty impressed, I always thought making bread was super hard.' Adrien grinned, a flush taking over his cheeks. 'Marinette's a really good teacher.'

Nino chewed for a moment, a delighted gleam in his eye. 

'Man, Alya is going to hit the roof when she hears about this.'

'Why? I thought she was already in the loop about everything?' 

Nino shook his head. 'Nevermind. Seriously though, are you and Marinette roommates now?' He laughed. _'Oh my god they were roommates...'_

'Well, maybe? She's given me an open invitaiton, and did you know she has a pull-out couch?'

'Uh, yeah, I've stayed on it before. ' Nino looked at him. 'Oh yeah, you might not've known that because of your curfew. Having it pulled out takes up a lot of space in that tiny little main room, so she tends to keep it put away until it's time for sleep.'

'She said she'd have a key made for me at lunch, I'll have to pay her back from it.'

Nino blinked at him. 'Oh my dude,' he breathed. 'I hope you're picking up what she's dropping.'

Adrien frowned at him. 'What? What do you mean? She hasn't even made it yet,'

Nino puffed out his cheeks, taking a moment to think. 'Alya'd kill me if I said, so you definitely can't tell her,' he looked at him intently, 'but you do know how she feels about you, right?'

'Well,' Adrien's eyes fell to his bread, a little flushed. He struggled with words for a moment, before hunching over his bread, and almost wheezed, ' _but she's so fantastically out of my league!'_

Nino rubbed his back soothingly. 'I know, I know, just let it out.'

'Did you know she's working full time on top of her internship?' Adrien managed.

'And yet she still finds time to support us? Her friends? All of us? And she helps out at her parents bakery sometimes still? And-' _and she's Ladybug as well????_

'Yep, Marinette stretches the definition of 'awesome', alright.' Nino grinned. 'I'm glad you finally noticed.'

'I mean when she offered that key to me this morning I could have,'

'Kissed her?' Nino teased, but Adrien flushed red. 

'Why am I losing it so bad now, Nino?' He asked a little shakily. 'I mean I've had all weekend around her, and, and she's been so awesome about everything, but now,'  
'Dude, I know exactly what you're going through. Don't forget, back when we were teenagers, I could hardly speak two words to her, before I landed the love of my life.' Nino stuffed the last of his slice into his mouth. 'It's probably because you're away from it all, so you can let it sink in.'

'And she protected me this morning, even though she could have gotten in so much trouble,'

'It's lucky her internship isn't at Gabriel with your Dad, so he can't threaten her job.' Nino pointed out. 

'She's with _Renée Couture_ , isn't she?' Adrien confirmed, and at Nino's nod he let out a breath. 'I knew, but I wanted to be sure. They're a leading competitor, Renée herself is almost as scary as Father.'

'There's no way she'd let him push anyone at her company around, so Marinette's safe.' NIno confirmed. 'But what about you? What are you going to do about her?'

Adrien blinked at him. 'I don't want to do anything to her, she can work wherever she likes.'

'No, no, no,' Nino flapped at him. 'Are you going to ask her out?'

Adrien looked, and felt, like a tomato. He took a breath. 'She said I should figure things out before I do anything else.'

Nino stuck out his jaw thoughtfully. 'Well, I think that might be wise. You don't want to get distracted from sorting your life out,' he pulled a face, 'but I gotta say. Your face when you walked through my front door,' he grinned, 'I think you're doing the right thing, whatever it is.'

Adrien stood, suddenly shy. 'You think?' He gestured to take Nino's plate.

'Yeah I think,' Nino grinned, handing it to him. 'As l see it, I think you need to sit down and figure out what you want. From there, if you need us, any of us three can help you.' 

Nino watched as Adrien returned to the table to cut another slice each of bread. 

'Hey dude, I gotta ask, are you still wearing the same clothes from Friday?'

'I did a little shopping this morning before I came over.' Adrien admitted, a little shamefaced. 'Before that, yeah. I did go out Saturday for a toothbrush and stuff though.'

'Kudos.' Nino grinned. 'Must've been hell for you, mr model.'

Adrien shrugged. 'I wasn't really thinking about it, at the time. I did realize it this morning and felt pretty gross though.'

'So that means your Dad hasn't cut you off,' Nino pointed out. 

Adrien paused, halfway through the loaf. 

'I hadn't even thought of that,' he said.

'I'll bet he doesn't think of it either,' Nino pointed out. 'He's never been a cheapskate about you being generous whenever we were together, his thing was just being a cheapskate with your time. Plus, you've never done outrageous stuff like buying sports cars and holidays.'

'I'm not Chloé,' Adrien laughed. Then froze. 'Oh crap, Chloé's probably worried sick,'

Nino snorted, but covered it with a cough. Even in their twenties, they still hadn't gotten along. 

'If you want, you can borrow my phone,' Nino pointed out. 'I think I still have Chloés number, if she hasn't changed it since her last "reply-all" public dumping.'

'Would you mind?' Adrien implored, and Nino picked up his phone from the arm of the couch.

'Though I have to admit, that message chain was very enlightening about that guy,' Nino said thoughtfully. 'What was that creep's again?'

'Anthony,' Adrien replied, taking the phone from him. 'He was a Spanish surf instructor; they met while she was on holiday there.'

'I'm not surprised Chloé tore him to shreds,' Nino grinned. 'Chloé? The nicest thing I can say about her is that she's strong willed, not some wilting flower that he was talking about. I'm shocked he wasn't eaten alive.'

'He was, in a way,' Adrien smiled firmly. 'I doubt he'll be coming back to France any time soon.' His eyes were on Nino's phone as he typed. 

'Is she with anyone now? Her instagram's mostly around Paris at the moment, I think.' 

'As far as I know she's sworn off men. She insists it's forever, she said she wants to be like Meriyl Streep from Devil Wears Prada.'

'So like, her mom?' Nino pointed out. 

Adrien glanced up at him. 'If you say that to her, it's your funeral.' He grinned. 'I'd be honoured to do your eulogy.'

'Oh yeah, her. Chloé hasn't seen her since she left for New York.' Nino shook his head. 'What is it with fashion and being a bad parent?'


	9. Full to Bursting

There was the clicking sound of the lock of the door, closely followed by Alya bursting through looking frazzled.

'Nino?' She called, 'I know we said "no journalism at home" but research hardly counts, and-' her eyes fell to the couch, where both Nino and Adrien were flopped over the couch, looking like guilty toddlers who had eaten the entire cookie jar.

'What are you two doing?'

'We ate the whole thing,' Nino managed, and Adrien groaned in agreement.

Alya unslung her shoulderbag and dropped it behind the door. Her eyes surveyed the seeminly innocent scene, but noted the suspiciously empty plate on the table behind them. 'What did you two eat, exactly?'

'I made bread yesterday,' Adrien had to pause to take a breath, 'and I brought most of it over.'

'No way, really? Did you get a photo?' Alya smiled. 'That's awesome! Where's my slice?'

'See, babe,' Nino lifted his head slightly and raised a halting finger, 'that's the thing.'

'Wait, you ate a whole loaf of bread between the two of you?' Alya raised her eyebrows. 'How big was the loaf?'

'"Most", of a loaf,' Nino corrected, but Adrien demonstrated the larger size with his hands.

'That's huge! Did Marinette show you how?'

Adrien nodded. 

'And you two didn't even save me a slice of Adrien's first bread!' Alya admonished. 

'...Sorry, babe,' Nino hung his head. 

'Have to admit,' Adrien shook his head, 'the jam and cheese and stuff didn't help either,'

'It wouldn't!' Alya moved over to the table and cleared away the empty plate and bread knife. 'It's like you two are in high school again. Remember that time we had a slumber party at Marinette's and ate all of the leftover pastries in one go?'

'Don't remind me, I might puke,' Nino grimanced. 

'But it was heaven,' Adrien's eyes shone. 'I'd never eaten that much amazing food in one sitting before.'

'It didn't help that Marinette's parents had blatantly overstocked in preparation,' Alya shook her head with a grin. 'They really must have pulled out all the stocks.'

'It was so rare to be able to kidnap you for an evening then.' Nino rolled slightly from being sprawled on the couch to look at Adrien, who was leaning against the arm of it. 'Let me give you some advice,'

'Oh this'll be good, considering what you two just did,' Alya laughed. 

'You this kind of gorging every day.' Nino ignored her. 'I tried it when I first moved out, it doesn't work.'

'I think I'd die if I tried to do this every day,' Adrien managed. 'Just thinking about doing this again tomorrow makes me queasy.'

Nino nodded. 'Exactly. Also don't try to live off of instant noodles.' 

'Hey! He's gotta try the noodle life if he wants to get the "living out of home" experience!' Alya pointed out, pulling over a dining chair and sitting comfortably. 

'Babe, you tried it for like, a year because you didn't take the time to cook properly.'

'There were important stories to cover!' Alya shrugged. 

'It was only when I moved in that you tried a vegetable again. I think you'd forgotten what they tasted like.' Nino teased.

'It's all about that life.' Alya dismissed. 'Everyone has to try it.'

'Marinette didn't,' Adrien suddenly pointed out. 'She has real food.'

Alya leaned forward in her chair with a gleam in her eye. 'Yeah, but do you know how many pastries she ate in her first few months of living out from her parents because she coudn't find the time? Who do you think dragged her food shopping once a week?'

Nino looked back at her evenly. 'Yes, you were pushing Marinette to look after herself, whilst coming home to instant noodles and coffee every day.'

Alya laughed. 'Damn, you got me there. I guess we all need looking after sometimes.'

'I didn't, I knew how to cook completely before I moved out.' Nino grinned.

'You knew how to cook, yes.' Alya grinned back. 'But you couldn't clean a bathroom worth a damn. Working in your parent's restaurant taught you well, my young Padawan, but with everything else you were only a mere mortal like the rest of us.'

'Don't say such terrible things in front of Adrien!' Nino leant forward to press his hands against Adrien's ears. 'He's too young and innocent, he still thinks I'm perfection amongst men!'

'Nino, you may be a god, but you're not perfect,' Adrien grinned, but Nino threw himself away, and pressed his forearm against his forehead in mock horror. 

'I can't believe it! He's been corrupted already!' Nino wept. 'Who could have done this to you?'

Alya leant over and flicked Nino's nose. 'There's only one person allowed to tear you down when your head gets too big,' she winked.

He grinned back. 'Our relationship is a two way street that way.'

Adrien looked between them as they grinned at each other for a moment, a warm feeling in his chest. 

'So you're staying at Marinette's,' Alya changed topics. 'How's that pull-out couch treating you?'

'I swear it's the softest thing I've ever slept on.' Adrien returned. 'I'm making the most of it.'

'It would be, Marinette's parents spent some good money on it.' Alya smiled. 'Plus now you've got access to all the bread you could eat,' she glanced between them, 'for better or worse.'

Adrien and Nino smiled sheepishly. 

'I'm sure I'll be okay,' Adrien managed, a hint of regret in his voice.

'But, honestly?' Alya started. 'You could do with a bit of extra weight, you've had that slightly hungry look about you lately.'

'It was for summer, coming up, and all the shoots I'd've been doing.' Adrien shrugged. 'It's fine, I'm used to it.'

Alya reached over and flicked him, harder than she had done Nino. 

'Don't you ever say that again.' She said firmly. 'Not ever.'

'What, "shoots"?' 

Alya put on a voice. ' _"It's fine, I'm used to it."_ Better yet, let's nix _"It's for the best"_ and _"It's easier this way"_ from your vocabulary as well while we're at it.'

Nino nodded strongly, and Adrien looked between them. 'Why's that?'

'Because now that you're moved out, you gotta look after yourself. You're important, you know that right?'

'Of course I know that,' Adrien shrugged. 'I'm plastered on every bilboard from here to Japan. I thought you knew,' he teased, but backed down at her expression.

'Not "Model Adrien Agreste".' She shot back. 'Not "The Face of Gabriel Adrien Agreste", and certainly not "Plastered on Every Billboard Celebrity Adrien Agreste". That guy's a tool and we both know it.' 

'That's a bit-'

Alya leaned forward to meet his gaze. 'I'm talking about "My Friend Adrien". "Idiot Who Ate A Whole Loaf Plus Toppings Adrien". "Fool Who Keeps Challenging Marinette To MechaStrike Adrien".'

'Don't forget "Stayed Up All Night Trying To Think Of The Perfect Thing To Get Marinette For Her Birthday Adrien" and "One Time Drank So Much Coffee He Challenged Kim To A Race And Nearly Fazed Through Time And Space Adrien",' Nino pointed out. 

Alya looked at him. 'Did you film the race?'

'Of course I did. His caffeine buzz died about ten steps into it and I think he nearly went into cardiac arrest.'

Adrien was flushed red. 'You said you wouldn't tell!'

'Dude, you're lucky I didn't put it up on YouTube.'

'Ninoooo,' Adrien whined. 

Alya waved it away, however. 'See? That's the Adrien that we care about. That's the Adrien who needs to care about himself. Not about his image, or his brand. Just you.' She poked him gently on the shoulder. 

'But all that stuff you said is dumb.' Adrien shrugged. 'I'm supposed to-'

'You're not _supposed to_ do anything.' Alya poked him again. 'You're _supposed to_ look after yourself and do what makes the real you feel happy.'

'Those two statements contradict themselves,' Adrien pointed out half-heartedly. 

'Shut up, you know what I mean.'

'Also don't forget taking over Marinette's bakery as a blushing groom,' Nino pointed out. 'Your bread was off the charts.'

'Not that I would know,' Alya said pointedly, but Nino shrugged. 

'You'll be getting plenty more where that came from, if I have any say in it,' Nino said. 'Legit best bread ever.'

'You say that about every loaf you come across that's had Marinette's influence,' Alya pointed out. She glanced back at Adrien, but paused. 'You okay, sunshine?'

Adrien hastily scrubbed at his face. 'Yep, all good. Don't mind me.'

'You sure?' Nino asked, looking concerned. 'We didn't mean to tease you,'

'It's fine. You two are just the best.' Adrien managed, as Nino passed him a tissue box.


End file.
